I start skimming through it, but Alpha Jacob has terribly small handwriting, and it’s all very narrow. “Are you a fast reader? Can you read your dad’s handwriting well?”
“Yes,” Maddox says.
“You need to do that,” I say. “I am dyslexic. It would take me too long.”
Only when Maddox takes the notebook, starting to swiftly skim it, do I realize what I just said. I told him I am dyslexic, and I did it without feeling embarrassed about it.
Maddox didn’t even bat an eye at that information either, so I guess it honestly isn’t that important to others. The realization makes me unusually happy.
Maddox was right when he said he reads fast. He skims through the pages, his eyebrows furrowed, before he stops. He turns some pages back, reading them again.
“There is Marina’s name,” he whispers.
“What?”
“Look.” He shows me a page with Marina’s name scribbled amidst a wall of text. My eyes snap up to the date. “That was a little over a year ago.”
“It’s when she returned,” Maddox mutters.
“What does it say? What else is there on this page?”
“Transactions,” Maddox recited.
“To your pack or from your pack?”
“From Dad’s private account.” Maddox’s frown grows as he turns a couple more pages, until our eyes fall on a picture of hisfather and the gamma, standing together, casino chips in their hands.
“They are gambling,” I say.
Maddox‘s eyes are wide, and for a moment, I swear they are glistening. Then he hands me back the notebook. “Take pictures, please. From the mention of Marina’s name to the photos, at least. If you can take more, even better.”
He takes a couple of shaky breaths before returning to the shelves and skimming through the rest of it. It’s obvious he is only doing it for show. We probably found all we could and got more lucky than I‘d believed we would. But I get it. This is his dad’s shady side, his darkest side. It has to be hard to face it, even though Maddox might hate him.
I swiftly take pictures of all the important pages and all the ones that come after. I also manage to take some of the few leading up to the date of the entry mentioning Marina.
“I got almost all of the notebook,” I mutter. “I only skipped the first pages with the notes about his ranked members and elites, their birthdays and mates’ names and such like.”
“Yeah, it’s not relevant,” Maddox says quietly. “Let’s clean up.”
I put the notebook back in its place, making sure everything is set in its place, before I use the scent diffuser generously to hide my scent. Once I am done, I help Maddox with the bookshelves. “And now?”
“We go back to the table in the adjacent living room,” he says. “Let’s have dessert.”
“Good idea. Much less suspicious that way.”
We don’t talk, we just wordlessly sit down again, having our coffee and cake. Maddox barely eats anything, so I make sure to shovel down as much as I can to make sure it looks convincing to the alpha that we spent the whole evening here.
Eventually, I hear the door creak slightly. “Oh, here you are.” Alpha Jacob steps into the room.
“Yes, thank you for your generosity.” I show him my best smile. “The dessert was perfect, and Maddox told me a lot about the pack lands. You have a very interesting pack here, Alpha. I love its structure and its organization. Seems like you have a good security system in place, too!”
My words have the desired effect. This guy loves nothing more than himself, and stroking his ego easily deflects him from asking any awkward questions. His eyes light up, and he sits down next to me, with a plate of cake in front of him, before he goes on to a whole new tirade of how amazing he leads and structures the pack. I make sure to nod and smile, and notice Maddox’s tense stance relaxing slightly.
When a maid knocks at the door to retrieve the empty plates, Alpha Jacob is incredibly happy. “There was something in the food today,” he tells the maid. “Tell the kitchen staff to use different spices. Whatever they used today, they shall toss it out and replace it. The chef is free to use the budget for it.”
I feel instant relief fill me. I’d have hated for anyone to take the blame for me using my gift. But Alpha Jacob is in a good enough mood to let it go, it seems, maybe to show off in front of me or to prove to me how awesome he is.
I don’t care. I just care for everyone to be safe.
